Tag:death valley national park
Sunset at the Artists Palette was taken in Death Valley National Park. The aim was to capture the ‘starburst’ as the sun kissed the tops of the Panamint Range across Death Valley. The challenge, of course, is that this is an artificial sunset. If the mountain range weren’t there, then the sun would still be quite high in the sky so it’s brighter than would the case for a true sunset. The direct view has produced some pretty dramatic flare […]
The Zabriskie Sunrise, that time of day when the sun directly illuminates Manly Beacon and the badlands that surround it. Its a very short walk from the parking lot, up the hill, to the viewing area at Zabriskie Point but most people walk a little further for even better views. Manly Beacon is the peak in the midground on the right of the frame. Here you can see the direct sunlight creeping it’s way down the Panamint range on the […]
There were eight in our group – waiting for the sunrise at the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park. The aim had been to capture a starburst as the sun peeked over the Funeral Mountains of the Amargosa Range. The dunes are at their firmest at dawn and the breeze over night has erased most of the footprints from the day before. Get there first and you have pristine dunes to capture. Get there second and there […]
Shortly before I visited the Racetrack Playa for the first time, the mystery of the moving stones had been solved – ice, apparently. Thanks to the flat tire we had encountered at Teakettle Junction, we were behind schedule when we arrived and the sun had already dropped below the peaks of the Last Chance Range to our west. From our spot at the southern end of the Racetrack Playa the photo below shows the playa and Grandstand in shadow with […]
“Thirty years I’ve been coming here and I’ve never seen anyone on the pastels”, complained an ornery gent as we returned to the parking lot with the light almost gone. His claim was rather surprising given the multitude of well work tracks heading into the pastel colored rocks from the Artists Palette parking lot. You have to get out and walk if you really want to see them at their best. And for photographers with digital cameras the potential of […]
The racetrack road runs south from Ubehebe Crater to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. It’s a rough, washboarded road and can be quite an uncomfortable trip. The rock pieces are jagged and sharp and there’s not enough room to pass someone coming in the other direction. That’s how we got our flat – we punctured the sidewall while pulling over to let someone pass. We were all surprised to see someone in a regular sedan driving along […]
